The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to SpiceJet after eight malfunction incidents in 18 days. This came after SpiceJet was hit with another technical snag on July 5 with the weather radar on one of its flights to China malfunctioning.
On Tuesday, July 5, SpiceJet’s Boeing 737 freighter (cargo aircraft) was scheduled to operate from Kolkata to Chongqing. After take-off, the weather radar stopped working, following which the pilot in charge decided to return to Kolkata. The aircraft landed safely at Kolkata, a SpiceJet spokesperson said.
Earlier on Tuesday, a SpiceJet flight made a “normal landing” at Jinnah International Airport in Pakistan’s Karachi after an indicator light had malfunctioned. The Delhi to Dubai bound aircraft landed safely at Karachi airport and no emergency was declared, SpiceJet said.
PAST INCIDENTS
On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude.
Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing them to abandon their journeys and return.
On June 19, an engine on the carrier’s Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after the take off from Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later.
The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit.
In another incident on June 19, a SpiceJet flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurisation issues.
The airline has been making losses for the last three years. The carrier incurred a net loss of Rs 316 crore, Rs 934 crore and Rs 998 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.
